I just watched a video of a CNN reporter reporting on the "protests" in Minneapolis. He said on live TV that the riots in MN were "entirely peaceful" and a "merry caravan" and then someone threw a bottle directly at him. I guess his idea of "peaceful"and "merry" are a lot different from mine. That's why I mostly avoid watching CNN. You can't make this stuff up.

The riots are what the media have you thinking that what they present is a general condition. When it is not.

Their view of any situation is looking through a straw. When looking at the side of an elephant through their straw they would report the world has turned completely gray!!!

If the cameras focused on the guy with a torch in his hand looked one block away.....people would be going about their business.

If the reporting organization has alphabet letters in it's name it has an agenda....to maintain.

Why do these instances of police brutality and subsequent riots, looting, arson etc always seem to happen in places controlled by a particular party?

‪In my opinion, a root cause of the problems in this Country is that everyone seems to separate Americans into "Communities" according to their skin color, morals or religious and political beliefs. Everyone who does is and promotes the real racism, bigotry and strife in this Country. As long as there is a "Black Community" racism will exist, which will be as far into the future as I can imagine. As long as there is a Gay Community, Jewish Community, Muslim Community or any divided group identifying as a “Community” setting themselves apart, there will be a natural and continuous bias from within and outside their Community. ‬

‪Unconditional love and acceptance is Devine but we are all human. As long as there are humans, as long as there is a we, there will be Communities and there will be racism, bigotry and strife. The fewer “Communities” the less problems of these types we’ll have. The way to that end is to expand our smaller communities into a larger one, giving up the identities that separate us. ‬

‪We live in a very large Community . . . . America. When our main identity is being an American the lesser attributes of skin color, religious beliefs or personal preference will matter less and not separate us as Americans.

Professional "protestors."
 

The people who want to destroy America, "transform it," if you will, are paying the thugs that are bused in to increase the violence and rev up those who live there. Police are told to "stand down" by feckless politicians (who think they control the city,) hoping that "things will simmer down." As the situation escalates, law enforcement has to resort to harsher measures, like tear gas and rubber bullets, until THEY look like the bad guys. A sad state of affairs, for sure.

maybe not ignorance
 

Maybe this is not willful nor blind ignorance. Maybe it is just a lack of knowing what to do about it. I believe that many Know of the differences in treatment of various segments of American society. Given that we do Know of this how do you propose we change it? You cannot 'govern' away discrimination. Laws do not change how people feel towards others. The overall sentiment here seems to be that if George Floyd were not Black then this would not have happened. We don't know that.

This is off the subject of the original post, but it is at the heart of what is driving the rioting. I believe the protest would be welcomed, but the rioting and looting and destruction is not protest, it is outright criminal behavior.

Why?
 

True and sad; I certainly would never justify the looting and destruction but I understand that when it happens it is an expression of power for the powerlessness because of the underlying systemic issues. It would be nice to see a little more empathy in this forum.

When two cops are gunned down in broad daylight, that just goes to show there is nowhere safe from crime anymore, even inside a Paneras. That's 15 miles outside of the Baltimore Beltway and was 200 yards from my old home.

https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/wp-co...era1.jpg?w=600

In Florida there is about 2 million concealed weapon permit holders. In the past on this board, when someone asked about getting a concealed weapon permit, there's always someone who will say, why would you need that in TV.

Here's a beautiful neighborhood in Windemere where the former Minneapolis police officer owns property. Yesterday the mob of rioters defaced the property. Can you imagine if they had renters in there, and suddenly 100 people are in the yard, angry people. How about the next door neighbors, they couldn't walk outside their own home. Here's some of what they did, that's one side, it's vandalized all around. They finally brought police in when it obvious they were not peaceful. This is called a protest? There is NO way anyone can justify this type behavior.

http://www.bta.bg/en/gallery/showImage/?image=6698650

https://d1hfln2sfez66z.cloudfront.ne...frame_7826.jpg

The 60's protest, I'll tell you what that did for me. I had a draft lottery number of 265, a number that high meant I would never be drafted. At the same time I was enrolled at St. Petersburg JC, so I had a college deferment as long as I was enrolled. After watching those riots on TV, in the middle of my second year I didn't enroll in January '70 and dropped out and enlisted in the Army. How many of these rioters, and even these outspoken ones on this thread ever served this country? I can remember one who has mentioned this before, Bucco, the others can chime in and don't say the Boy Scouts.

Here I am in 1971 standing outside my mobile control tower in the DMZ of South Korea 3 miles from Panmunjom.

https://scontent-mia3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...c0&oe=5EF91F3F

Source for “most are not protesting “ ???? And followed with slow them down by shooting them. Outrageous and glorifying violence!!!

Yeah, me too.

But as so accurately stated in a now deleted post (paraphrasing) - "you who support blacks and their oppression, should shut up and just let how the majority of Villagers feel...only post." :ohdear:

Perfectly stated! So sadly true.

This is organized. How did these "riots" get started in practically every large city in a couple of days? That takes organization. Do you think its an accident that some of the leaders of these rioters are ready with incendiary devices, and tools the break into the stores and other buildings? What very wealthy individual is actively paying members of Anti-Fa and BLM? I will let you do the necessary research to find that name of the billionaire that has residences all over the world and is most likely living in Katonah, NY at this time.

A to the Men!

I posted earlier in this thread that until the systemic underlying causes are addressed nothing will change....someone else also called out the need to address the 'root causes'...another individual jumped on that post asking for clarity on what the 'root causes' are.

this is not my area of study, nor profession, but IMHO... here's my shot at what some of the systemic issues just may be:

- these folks live with an absence of hope, folks in these communities have no expectation that their lives will ever change for the better

- education is totally under valued, it is not openly encouraged by parents nor the leaders in the community, yet openly discouraged by peer pressure, as a result there is no real learning...and it has little to do with the condition of the school building, teachers aren't able to teach

- the family unit has broken down

- drugs are rampant and gangs control the streets...the inner city deaths due to gang gun violence is horrific

- living off welfare has become a generational dependency, rather than being the helping hand to get up on your feet that was originally intended

- thugs like Al Sharpton that prop themselves up as leaders are merely in the game to line their own pockets....just like Adam Clayton Powell did for years in NYC

- the British couldn't handle a rioting mob back in Concord...some officer feared for their lives and shots were fired...nothings changed...our police are human beings, emotions are going to flare and things are going to happen that shouldn't

....not a very pretty picture is it....and these are just a few things

It's no wonder that these communities 'explode'...and destroy the very neighborhoods that they live in

each one of the above represent a huge, huge challenge

and what has our society been doing about it?

well, we keep on addressing the symptoms vs. the underlying systemic causes....yeah build a new school, yet do nothing about fostering respect for the teachers and for the value that an education brings by parents, grandparents, community leaders, elected officials...let's put the responsibility where it belongs and where it will do the most good

ya, start a war on drugs....all that does is push it further underground

continue to 'feel good' that we're listening to the likes of an Al Sharpton and giving him a voice (that crook should have been thrown in jail for tax evasion just like Al Capone was)

Bermuda also has a welfare system....it works because it doesn't create a dependency upon it like ours does....In Bermuda if you are unable to live a comfortable lifestyle because the job you have doesn't pay enough, the State will subsidize you so that you can. The only catch is that you have to have a full time job

If we continue to only address the symptoms nothing changes...it's just like "eating an English Breakfast" (it keeps coming back on you)

Hopefully greater minds than mine with the resources will focus on how to address the systemic underlying issues and put all the puzzle pieces together....